Jack-o-lantern and Vampire Bat | Two Halloween Pact Familiars

Happy Halloween! If I'm not mistaken, this is my first intentionally holiday-themed homebrew! I have once done an Oath of Betrothal rerelease on Valentine's Day, but that wasn't the original inspiration for the sacred oath. For these two, however, Halloween has all the credit for the idea!

The jack-o-lantern and vampire bat are new options for warlocks to choose as their Pact of the Chain familiars. There are already some spooky options in the official content, like the quasit and imp, so I decided to lean less spooky and more "monstrous fun."

Oath of the Directive | Paladin Sacred Oath

After the undead and cowboy paladins, you probably thought there could be nothing weirder. Well, the Oath of the Directive is here to prove you wrong!

Based on the fiction of Isaac Asimov and his Laws of Robotics, this oath allows one to play a robot master and machine hero. Some might choose to play a character species that aligns with the tropes, such as a Warforged. I think there's also room to play a typically-fleshy species such as human or elf as a highly advanced android (possibly even with biomechanical components). Whatever you choose to do, have fun with it!

Lapinite | Player Character Species, and on rabbit tropes

It's good to bring the Lapinites back. I have never shared the Lapinites on this blog, but they're actually the first player character species homebrew I've ever done. I first made this a few years ago, and I revisited it to make some revisions and touch-ups based on everything I had learned about homebrew and Fifth Edition design.

So, let's get into it!

Sign of the Crown | Astrologer Astral Sign, and on subclass spells

With the Sign of the Crown we introduce another homebrew-for-homebrew, this time for Nimademe's excellent astrologer class. Seriously, give this class a read! It's one of the most innovative, well-designed, and evocative homebrew classes I have ever seen.

So, what is the Sign of the Crown?

Temples & Triforces | Version 2 of the Legend of Zelda homebrew compendium!

I try not to make a habit of rereleasing content that I've already blogged, but it felt warranted here. I've blogged a few more Legend of Zelda-themed homebrews, and I felt like adding them to Temples & Triforces. At nearly 20 pages, this compendium has gotten to be a pretty solid length, so I probably won't add to Temples & Triforces, even if I make more Legend of Zelda content. If I make more, I'll stick to making individual releases here on the blog.

But anyway: introducing Version 2 of Temples & Triforces!

Ethereal Theory | Philosopher Personal Theory, and on crossover homebrew

Following relatively close on the heels of the homebrew-for-homebrew Covenant of the Conspiracy, I bring to you the Ethereal Theory, a homebrew for the excellent Philosopher class created by Nimademe! These homebrews are actually closely interrelated because while the Ethereal Theory is homebrew for the Philosopher, its themes draw upon the Keeper.

Allow me to give some background.

The Light Spirit | Warlock Otherworldly Patron and more Temples & Triforces

It's the return of Temples & Triforces! Twilight Princess was my first Legend of Zelda game, so the light spirits that appeared as central figures in the story have a special place in my gamer's heart. I don't actually have much to say by way of homebrew commentary today, but I do have some comments to make about light spirits in Hyrule as a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting.

Covenant of the Conspiracy | Keeper Spirit Covenant, and homebrew for homebrew

Today introduces another first in the homebrew I've posted to this blog: this is homebrew for homebrew! The Keeper is an excellent class homebrewed by NotTheSmoooze. I definitely suggest that you check out the class and her other work!

So, what is it like to make homebrew for homebrew?

Oath of Independence | Paladin Sacred Oath, and turning elements into ideals

"The cold never bothered me anyway."

Yes, I'm not ashamed to admit I loved Frozen (and Frozen II!) and still do! Not that that would be surprising, really. After all, in the post right before this I praised a Barbie film as a childhood favorite. Anyhow, here we have another sacred oath. This one is probably my most thematically stretched, but it was done to fulfill an interesting challenge: a friend invited me to create an ice-themed subclass, and I found myself wanting to make a paladin. But how do I turn ice into an ideal?

Doppelgänger | Background

The Doppelgänger is another background homebrew. It's my longest one yet, and it's my favorite of the three that I've made so far.

Oath of Strangers | Paladin Sacred Oath, and on firearms and cowboys in D&D

I think the Oath of Strangers is one of my most unique sacred oaths. The thematic idea is pretty offbeat—the classic Wild West cowboy as a paladin—and the mechanic is a very different take on how to incorporate firearms in Dungeons & Dragons.

Inkling | Roguish Archetype, and on thematic magic items

When I posted the Secretary rogue, I mentioned that I had made other roguish archetypes before that point. Well, here is one of them: the Inkling is the first roguish archetype I ever homebrewed! And to be honest, I think I like it better than the Secretary—not to say the Secretary isn't good. I just think the Inkling is better.

Oath of Power | Paladin Sacred Oath, and on auras

For the Honor of Grayskull!

I've only seen the first season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. I've thought about seeing the rest of the series, but I've heard kind of mixed things which is why I've put it off. But that's neither here nor there! I wrote the Oath of Power as a tribute to the show and as a Christmas gift to a friend who really enjoyed it when we still only had season one.

Fairy | Player Character Species, and on tiny creatures

I've actually seen more than one fairy or pixie player character species homebrew before. Even so, I think fairy stories and tropes are really cute and sweet, so I wanted to give the concept a try for myself. I think it was a good exercise, because I really like the way it turned out!

Oath of Enthusiasm | Paladin Sacred Oath, and on revising homebrew and Gravity Falls

"Nothing is stronger than the power of… Mabel!"

First of all, a big thank you to Charlotte, AKA Chikuto, who kindly granted permission to use this adorable Gravity Falls fanart in the homebrew! Charlotte has more art on Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter and also draws and writes a cool webcomic.

And now to introduce the Oath of Enthusiasm! This is another sacred oath inspired by one of my favorite characters. Last time, Sara Crewe from A Little Princess inspired the Oath of Benevolence. Today, Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls inspires the Oath of Enthusiasm. The two characters are pretty different tonally, I grant, but I think the values they embody are surprisingly compatible. Their characters both emphasize compassion, self-worth, and forgiveness.

Bodysnatcher | A Background, and on brewing out of your comfort zone

Possibly the eeriest of all my homebrew, the Bodysnatcher is another nonprofessional background in the vein of my earlier cyborg. And it's another science fiction background, though this time in the cosmic horror genre of H.P. Lovecraft.* I created the Bodysnatcher in response to a friend's prompt-based homebrewing challenge event: anything inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos or Lovecraftian cosmic horror.

Oath of Betrothal | Paladin Sacred Oath, and on flavor text and innovative inspiration

The Oath of Betrothal is another early paladin homebrew of mine. If memory serves, it's the fourth homebrew sacred oath I ever made. I created the Oaths of the Lyan, Fantra, and Paramander (now the Oaths of Society, Anarchy, and Detachment respectively), and I unexpectedly discovered that I wanted to make more sacred oaths, beyond the themes of Dragon magazine's "Plethora of Paladins." I'm not sure how I hit upon the idea, but I'm very happy I did. I think the Oath of Betrothal is among my most fun ideas.

Selkie | A player character species for the Veardynn setting

It's the return of both species homebrew and homebrew for Veardyn, my custom setting! The Dunewalker was the first subspecies I ever made, but the Selkie is not actually the first full species I've ever made. That honor goes to another piece that I have not yet shared to the blog and which is unrelated to Veradynn. It badly needs polish, though, so I'm holding off on sharing it for now.

But enough trivia; on to the Selkies!

Secretary | A Roguish Archetype, and on lyrics as feature names

"Why do you write like you're running out of time? Write day and night like you're running out of time?"

I've made homebrew referencing The Legend of Zelda, homebrew referencing Demon Slayer, homebrew referencing A Little Princess, and yes, now homebrew referencing Hamilton: An American Musical. What can I say? The songs and music were all stuck in my head! And so, Alexander Hamilton: A Roguish Archetype was born.

The Archmage | An Otherworldly Patron, and on overlap among patrons

The Archmage! Although I have previously posted the Chivalric Order, that was actually not the first otherworldly patron I ever created. That honor goes to the Archmage, which has had a surprisingly long history among my homebrews. If memory serves, I made my first draft of this homebrew two or three years ago by now! This was one of my first homebrews, created shortly after the three Oaths of the Fantra, Lyan, and Paramander that were the precursors to my present Oaths of Anarchy, Society, and Detachment.

Cyborg | A Background, and on science fiction in Dungeons & Dragons

Here is another new development in my homebrew: a background! Backgrounds are interesting as a field of content creation compared to subclasses, species, and spells. Somewhat uniquely, the Player's Handbook advises Dungeon Masters and players to work together to create original backgrounds of their own as a standard rule, not a variant. Homebrewing a background is thus arguably not even really "homebrew," because that's just how the game already works! On the other hand, the formalized presentation of a background fully kitted out with trait tables is a little different from the Handbook's advice, as it goes beyond a personal background into being a complete piece of content able to inspire readers to contemplate new background possibilities.

Oath of Benevolence | A Paladin Sacred Oath, and on personal taste and my favorite book

A long time ago when I posted the Oath of Detachment, I mentioned that I thought of it as my best work on a technical level but wasn't my personal favorite. I didn't go further into that difference at the time, but now is the time, because here is the Sacred Oath that is my favorite piece among all the paladin homebrew I've created: the Oath of Benevolence.

What makes this one so special? Some of it has to do with the archetype's inspiration, and some of it has to do with my personal taste and style.

School of History | An Arcane Tradition, and when homebrew imitates life

My very first original arcane tradition! I have done wizard homebrew before, but as that was part of my Darkest Timeline project, it feels like it doesn't count as an original idea.

This was fun to do, as I've wanted to make a wizard for a long time. It's a silly reason, but it didn't seem right to be making so much homebrew and yet leave out one of the most iconic original Dungeons & Dragons classes. It was also enjoyable because I'm a student of history myself. Getting the chance to talk about this favorite subject of mine in homebrew felt really neat!

The Chivalric Order | An Otherworldly Patron, and on warlocks and trends in homebrew

Today I'm sharing the Chivalric Order. It's funny to me that this foray into warlock archetype design is basically a paladin, or really a group of paladins, as an Otherworldly Patron. I'm very pleased with this homebrew, in both its narrative and its mechanics. I think it's my best Patron that I've created so far, so I hope you enjoy it.

The Chivalric Order also serves as a good example of something that I'd like to write about: trends in homebrew.

Path of the Beast | Barbarian Primal Path, and on nonmagical characters in Dungeons & Dragons

My sister actually inspires a lot of my homebrew. Like the Way of the Water Lily, the Path of the Beast came about on account of wanting to make a present based on a show she enjoys. In this case, that show was Demon Slayer. The Path of the Beast provides what I hope is a fitting tribute to the character Inosuke, the inventor and sole practitioner of Beast Breathing, which I'll admit I still don't fully understand, but people tell me the homebrew captures the spirit of things even if I don't get it.

Acolyte, Reaver, and Scoundrel | Three martial archetypes from an alternate timeline and on class homebrew versus subclass homebrew

Great Scott! I'm finally back in my own timeline!

Confused? No need to be: the truth is simply that I have not brewed these archetypes: Rather, they are evidence from an alternate timeline too terrible to fully describe, where the barbarian, monk, and rogue classes simply don't exist! So many things were different, it's too horrible to even remember fully!

From that realm of nightmares I narrowly escaped with my life and sanity, with only these martial archetypes, torn from the pages of the alternate timeline's Player's Handbook 2 to prove my story. Behold and tremble at the awful knowledge of a dark timeline where your favorite classes don't exist!

Pact of the Mask | On warlock Pact Boons and an elephant in the room

Something of an addendum to last week's Temples & Triforces, the Pact of the Mask is an idea that came to me thanks to a friend. He saw the document and then asked if I had any ideas for Link's masks in Majora's Mask. The question intrigued me; at first, I suggested a Mask Salesman subclass, or a series of magic items. But then as I continued thinking about it, I had another idea that I wanted to explore: a warlock Pact Boon.

Temples & Triforces | Seven species and four archetype options inspired by the Legend of Zelda, and on shared creative space

After months of work and at least one all-nighter, I bring to you Temples & Triforces! This is definitely one of my proudest homebrew creations yet. Here is what you need to get started with a Dungeons & Dragons campaign set in the world of The Legend of Zelda. With seven species and four archetype options (and two spells, in the context of one of the archetypes), this is the largest homebrew project I've ever shared to this blog (though not in fact the largest project I've ever created; but that's for another day).

Way of the Water Lily | A Monastic Tradition, and on monk design

At last, another archetype homebrew that is not a Sacred Oath! I'll bet some of you will be able to recognize the inspiration behind this Monastic Tradition. I created the Way of the Water Lily as a birthday present for my sister, and she is a fan of My Hero Academia. 

Dunewalker | A Dwarf subspecies and a glimpse at Veardynn

Here's another first for the blog: subspecies homebrew! What makes subspecies homebrew different from broader species homebrew is that the new creation needs to be able to fit into the existing framework of the "superspecies," so to speak. It's possible for an idea to be interesting yet ill-fitting. Additionally, because the species already takes up design space, both mechanically and narratively, the available design space is much narrower.

Oath of the Hero | Paladin Sacred Oath, and on inspiration

The story of this homebrew is a little interesting. For a long time, I've had this idea for a campaign in my head I call "Temples & Triforces": in other words, Legend of Zelda-themed Dungeons & Dragons. I enjoy homebrew, and I enjoy the game design work of a Dungeon Master, so I figured that given enough time and inspiration, I would be able to create content that would make my idea possible.